Subverting Stereotypes
by Lunaterre224
Summary: Meet a Slytherin from a very important family, a Gryffindor prankster and a compassionate Hufflepuff. Only they don't fit in. Shunned by their peers, they start a Hogwarts-wide campaign (and break a lot of school rules in the process). Contains the amazing colour-changing Peeves, smile-y faces, redecorated common rooms and a rather lot of defaced school property. OC-centric.
1. Introducing Our Heroes

**This story isn't going to be as long as my other multi-chapter stories and will only span a couple of months at Hogwarts (maybe an entire year if I stretch it out a bit). It is set somewhere between the Battle of Hogwarts and the when the Potter children first come to Hogwarts. My main aim in this story is to play around with stereotypes and produce some interesting characters which aren't recycled clichés.**

 **Please note: this chapter is intended to give skewed first impressions.**

* * *

The Sorting Ceremony had only just finished and the first years had been sent to their dormitories. At this hour, the castle should be quiet, so it was a great annoyance to the Slytherin Prefects to hear screaming coming from the girls' dormitory. Hurriedly locating the origin of the noise, the fifth, sixth and seventh year female prefects, pulled open the door to the first-years' dormitory. They held their wands aloft, searching for the danger that could cause the younger students to yell like that.

"How dare you!" The fifth year prefect winced, as a blonde first year raised her wand, only to slap the other girl she was facing.

A red mark appeared on the dark haired Slytherin's face and one of the older prefects quickly established her of being from a wealthy pureblood family, one with definite Death Eater leanings in the last war. The prefects quickly separated the two girls and upon interrogation, they learnt that the dark haired girl was Rose Yaxley.

The blonde was called Aria Rey. Technically, she was the most powerful person in the room. She came from a wealthy family, who were rich enough to dwarf the combined earnings of most of Slytherin House and were also soaked in politics. Despite first years not being allowed to be on the Quidditch teams (without special permission, that is) Aria had nagged her mother until she was in possession of the fastest broom on the market.

With a family history such as hers, it wasn't really surprising that she had gotten into a fight. What surprised the prefects however, was how quickly their argument had been brought to blows.

"My father will hear about this!" She exclaimed, as the prefects lead Rose to the hospital wing, while other members of Slytherin went to fetch their head of house.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Gryffindor prefects were also having a difficult time with the first years. In its extensive history, the house of lions was proud to call a variety of Hogwarts' best pranksters their own. Examples such as the Marauders and the Weasley twins testify that fact. However, tonight a record had truly been broken, for immediately after the Start of Term Feast the common room dissolved into chaos.

A couple of people screamed, for as soon as they moved past the Fat Lady's portrait, someone set off some peruvian instant darkness powder. Bodies pushed and shoved, as the inside of common room was turned pitch black. By the time the darkness had cleared, the Gryffindors stared in fascinated horror at the new decorations adorning the walls of their inner sanctum.

The Prefects ordered everyone to bed and once they had ascertained that the redecorations couldn't be removed, they contacted the headmistress. It took the house elves weeks to remove the markings from the Gryffindor hangings.

Upstairs, a young mousey haired boy grinned as he made his way to the first year dormitory. Next time, he would have to come up with a better design, but it was definitely a good prank to get the year started. He listened with glee, as the prefects complained about not being able to remove the smile-y faces and love-hearts which had been drawn over each of the faces of the Gryffindor lions. From the sound of the angry roars coming from the hangings, the house mascots weren't too pleased about it either.

The first year Gryffindor fell asleep, smiling to himself.

* * *

Down by the kitchens, the second year Hufflepuffs were distressed once more.

"Why do we still have to share a dormitory with _her_?" Usually, the house of badgers are a pretty tolerant bunch. Unfortunately, the second year girls had long since reached the end of that tolerance.

"Didn't we suffer enough last year?" They all groaned in unison at the terrible memories of their first year at Hogwarts.

The subject of their ire merely smiled awkwardly, as if she hadn't just been hurt by their insults (although she undoubtedly was). Her expression was that of acceptance and understanding, for she could knew why they felt that way. She didn't want to make the other second year girls upset; she knew how awful it had been for them the previous term.

Phobia Darkewood quickly changed into her nightdress and grabbed a blanket from one of the four poster beds. She chose an armchair by the fire and settled down there, under the watchful gaze of Helga Hufflepuff's portrait. The second year gathered her blanket closer around her. It wasn't fair for her to keep the other girls up all night whenever she had a nightmare.

Feeling lonely by herself, Phobia fell into a dark and twisted dream.


	2. Further Introductions

**This chapter is a sort of miss-match of other scenes I had written for this story when it was first drafted. It tells the other side of the story for all of the characters.**

 **Oh, I forgot to mention last chapter that I do not own the Harry Potter Universe (obviously).**

* * *

Aria Rey sat with her back against the dungeon wall. Her thoughts seemed to keep spiralling back to her housemates and their old prejudices. She couldn't believe that she got into her fight before lessons even started. Why did the other Slytherins get caught up in this petty feud? Surely, they knew better than to blindly follow the poor example their parents set!

It just wasn't fair. Aria could hardly help being muggleborn any more than she could help having a father as a politician and a mother as an heiress. Being shunned because of her background wasn't something she normally experienced - usually it was the opposite.

Aria had spent her entire life being accepted by those sorts of people; the rich, the influential. Rejection was simply something she had never experienced. She was scarcely able to comprehend how easily they had turned on her.

Wondering the lonely dungeons, the first year Slytherin shivered slightly, but refused to go back to her dormitory. She had only been at Hogwarts for a week, but already she was unable to stand her dorm-mates.

The clocks drew close to midnight and the air was cold and still. The lack of candles sending flickering shadows across the floors was strangely comforting. Until that moment, the only sound Aria could hear what that of her own breathing. So naturally she leaped in terror when a smashing sound could be heard up ahead.

Cautiously, Aria moved towards the noise, mentally rearranging excuses if she was confronted with a teacher or prefect. Her mind ran through all the possible causes of the sound. It was probably just Peeves, but her curiosity got the better of her.

She moved stealthily and silently; her breathing became shallow and her footfalls turned to velvet. No one could possibly hear her or realise her presence.

"Well, I didn't expect to see anyone else out of bed this late."

* * *

His eyes scanned the darkness. It was quiet; there was no one else around. But still his movements jerked about, every sense alert. To anyone who had met him, they would be astounded that the first-year Gryffindor trickster could move so silently.

Jonathan Bulstrode had not been able to sleep. His dorm-mates' snoring had made sure of that. To be honest, Jonathan wasn't sure he preferred them awake. Most of them thought that he was some sort of pureblood fanatic after his parents had sided with the Death Eaters at the Battle of Hogwarts. A matter which Jonathan found ridiculous, as he often disagreed with his parents on almost every single one of their beliefs.

When Jonathan's sister had married a muggle and his parents had blasted her off the family tree, his entire perspective of wizarding culture had changed. He had been into the muggle world and witnessed its many triumphs and faults and he knew more about it than any wizard-raised half-blood. Only, his housemates had been unable to see the person behind his surname and it didn't help his reputation that he was a troublemaker by nature and had already lost their house several points.

Over the week, the howlers from his family had eventually dried up. Jonathan rolled his eyes - like he'd actually want to be another carbon-copy of everyone else in his family and be placed in Ravenclaw or Slytherin! However, now he was proving himself to be a true Gryffindor, as he sought adventure in the labyrinthine corridors inside the dungeons. The dungeons had been the first item on his exploration list, because his family had always given him the impression that no one ventured down there except the snakes, giving his expedition a sense of rebellion.

Suddenly, a mighty crashing sound echoed through the dungeons. Eyes widening, Jonathan wondered if it was one of the ghosts making that noise. Creeping towards the disturbance, Jonathan couldn't hear any other sounds, so he almost missed the fact that he wasn't alone. His eyes glimpsed a flash of white and it took him a moment to realise that it was a strand of long, blonde hair.

Jonathan grinned at the chance to sneak up on someone. "Well, I didn't expect to see anyone else out of bed this late." He made his words sound as casual as possible and laughed when the girl jumped in surprise.

"It's not nice to sneak up on people like that!" The girl snapped, crossly. "You're not exactly meant to be out of bed either!"

Jonathan's grin remained intact. "Neither are you."

The Slytherin glared, while the Gryffindor continued to grin, knowing that it would get under her skin. It totally did.

Opening her mouth for an angry retort, the Slytherin girl was interrupted by another smashing sound coming from the deepest, darkest part of the dungeons. The two first years shared a knowing glance and reached a silent agreement. Using all of their cunning and bravery, they stealthily slipped away into the darkness to investigate.

* * *

Phobia Darkewood was not having a great evening. The prefects had discovered that she was sleeping in the common room and had sent her back to her dormitory, much to the other girls' disgust. Not wanting to cause another scene, the part-dementor second year had grabbed her blanket and headed to the dungeons, where she couldn't disturb anyone. She'd sort everything out with Professor Sprout in the morning.

Unfortunately, stealth was not one of Phobia's talents and she had already knocked over several objects in her make-shift bedroom in the darkness. To be honest, Phobia was a little afraid of the dark. It reminded her of the nightmares she would get whenever she used her powers on someone. Being part-dementor definitely felt like a curse to her, for whenever she hated someone enough to make them live their worst moments, Phobia lived it as well and could taste their fear. The sensation terrified her.

Not surprisingly, Phobia wasn't very popular in Hufflepuff house. Or anywhere really. Her powers scared people almost as much as they scared her and despite the fact that she rarely used them, no one wanted to come anywhere near her. Even teachers liked to keep their distance.

Despite this, Phobia always tried her hardest to be likeable. Last term she had brought in a selection of the Honeydukes' finest and shared it with her housemates. She would hold open doors and offer to carry people's books. None of these things had helped her make more friends. The Hogwarts students simply went out of their way to avoid her.

Therefore, she was quite unprepared to discover two first years actually coming near her willingly and asking if she could keep the noise down. Surprised, Phobia made to grab her wand, but being as clumsy as she was, her hand glanced off it and her wand skidded under an unused desk. Hopelessly trying to find her wand in the dark, Phobia realised that the first years hadn't ran away yet - a highly unusual occurrence.

"Can I help you?" She asked, one hand still stretched out under the desk, trying to identify her wand by touch alone. If only she had her wand, she could cast a _lumos_ charm and actually see what was going on.

The first years took in the blankets laid out across the floor. "Why are you sleeping in here?" The mousy haired boy asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion.

"Because my dorm-mates can't stand me." There was a silence from the younger students and it suddenly struck Phobia that they didn't know who she was. What she was.

"Mine too." The blonde blurted out, before apparently realising what she had said. Her eyes widened, as if she had just broken some sort of ultra-top-secret Slytherin code.

"Same here." The boy told them. "Or at least, I can't stand their snoring. Mind if we camp here with you?"

Phobia narrowed her eyes, not quite believing that someone would actually want to spend time with her. "I'm sorting out my sleeping arrangements with my head of house in the morning, so it's only for tonight."

"Got it." The Slytherin girl said. It was better than spending it with people who thought she wasn't worthy being in Slytherin house because of her heritage.

The Gryffindor grinned. "Cool. It can be like an inter-house sleepover."

The Slytherin rolled her eyes at his vulgarity. Phobia finally located her wand and placed it back inside her nightgown pocket. It had been so long since she had had real company. As she fell asleep next to the first years, it was the first time in months that she didn't have bad dreams.


	3. The Ravenclaw Feud

**Before I start this chapter, I want to state that I do not necessarily agree/disagree with all opinions expressed within and I personally have nothing against Ravenclaw House, Muggleborns, Death Eater's children or dementors.**

* * *

As the trio of outcasts approached exited the dungeons, Phobia's palms began to sweat. People walked out of their way to avoid them, which was usual for Phobia, but she worried how the two younger students would react when they were started to be treated like social pariahs by all four Hogwarts Houses.

"Um, guys?" Phobia's voice was rather soft, in order to prevent the onlookers from overhearing. "You might not want to be seen in public with someone like myself."

"Why not?" Jonathan exclaimed in protest, drawing knowing looks from their audience. Why should he care about social standing? He was a known maverick and the sight of him conforming to social expectations would likely cause more eyebrows than if he associated himself with who he pleased.

Aria shot him a withering glare in an attempt to get him to lower his voice. She had picked up on the indicators last night that both Phobia and Jonathan were unpopular in their own houses like herself, but she had been unprepared for a school-wide hate-fest about who she chose to be friends with. The wizarding world, Aria decided, was rather strange.

"It's too late." The Slytherin informed them. "People have already seen that we have become acquaintances, if we suddenly ignore each other the teasing will get even worse."

Phobia stared at the longer girl in horror. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

Aria rolled her eyes and continued speaking. "However, if we stick together, we will earn their respect, albeit grudgingly in some cases I'd expect."

"A badger, a lion and a snake?" Jonathan snorted. "Slytherin and Gryffindor hate each other, their would be no love lost for the two of us."

The older girl sighed. "Yes, but hanging around with me will make you even more unpopular."

Aria raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow delicately. "I suggest you inform us why, because neither of us were very popular in first place."

Jonathan tried to look indignant, yet failed miserably. They had now reached the doors to the Great Hall, but lingered still, none of them wanting to go to their separate house tables. "What can I say?" Shrugged the Gryffindor. "I have Death Eater parents in a house full of people whose families died at their hands."

Phobia nodded formally, understanding how difficult that must be for him. The muggleborn looked confused at how they could hold a grudge against someone who hadn't even been a part of the war. Didn't they realise that in wronging their children, they were causing another generation of hate?

"I've only met you last night, Jonny, but I know you're nothing like that. If your own housemates cannot see that, then they are even dumber than their reputation in Slytherin suggests." They all laughed at that one and passers-by gave them some weird looks. Aria fought back a final giggle. "And that was said by a muggleborn, so they don't have half as much reason to hate you as I do."

"A muggleborn in Slytherin?" Phobia asked. "Haven't heard that one in a while; most people don't like to advertise that fact."

Jonathan snorted. "Slytherin doesn't like to advertise it at all." He'd heard stories from his parents about how muggleborns went under the house protection from the rest of the school and that their housemates (regardless of their position on blood purity) would gloss over that fact and provide the united front that was expected of them. He eyed his new friend cautiously. To be going against house tradition took a lot of guts and he had a newfound respect for the Slytherin girl.

"Well, it can't be as outrageous as Phobia." Aria told them. "Most of the other houses couldn't care less about me, but everyone else seems to want to avoid her like the plague. No offence." She briefly wondered if being a tactless Gryffindor was contagious.

Phobia swallowed. "People don't really want to get to know a part-dementor child." She waited for the looks of disgust and fear to cross their faces, but none came.

"That is so cool!" Jonathan exclaimed and Phobia cringed as his voice carried across the Entrance Hall and everyone looked up in their direction. "Do you get any special powers?"

Their other friend looked on in bewilderment at this exchange and her face contorted into an expression of confusion. "I have no idea what a dementor is, but from everyone par Jonny's reaction, I'm guessing its even worse than being muggleborn or having Death Eater parents."

"Right, so most people assume dementors are really dark creatures-" Jonathan began.

"Dementors _are_ really dark creatures." Phobia interrupted.

Jonathan had the nerve to roll his eyes. "But only because they show everyone their worst memories and suck out people's souls and stuff."

Phobia stared at him. "I don't understand how you don't consider giving everyone you meet nightmares isn't dark."

The Gryffindor shrugged. "You don't know half the stuff my parents have stashed around the house. They inherited a lot of dark objects from other Death Eaters who died in the war."

"You haven't given either of us nightmares, though." Aria's eyes narrowed as she processed the incoming information. She was busy calculating whether having a friend who was part-dementor had any long-term advantages, as she knew there would be few in the short-term, thanks to wizarding prejudice. By not giving Slytherin House a united front, she was exposing herself to a lot of enemies and Aria hoped that her new friends would offer at least some meagre protection.

The second year fidgeted. "I try not to use my powers around other people, but sometimes when I have bad dreams I can't help it."

"So you do get awesome powers!" Jonathan yelped in triumph. The girls ignored him.

"Whenever I use my powers, they witness their most terrifying moments and I... I see them too." Phobia's voice was now even softer, barely audible.

Jonathan's grin slipped for a second. "That's not so awesome." He admitted.

"That's why you suffer from nightmares, isn't it?" Aria asked, already knowing the answer, but saying it anyway. It needed to be said.

All three of them fell into a silence. None of them knew what to say after what they had leaned about each other. Unfortunately, one of the school bullies knew precisely what to say.

"Freaks!" Sneered a Ravenclaw fifth year, as him and his friends barged passed on their way to the Great Hall. The younger students were jostled and thrown about, as the fifth years slammed into them.

"They'll pay for that." Growled Jonathan. Aria placed her hand over his, preventing him from reaching for his wand.

"Yes, they will pay, Jonny, but not right now." She turned to Phobia. "Do they often do that?"

Phobia, who had tripped and stumbled, brushed the dirt from her already scuffed knees. "Often. Some people just take the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw rivalry to a whole new level." She neglected to tell them that it was mostly her they targeted, because they knew they could get away with it.

Jonathan grinned, as his notorious troublemaker smile returned. "How about we teach them a lesson?"


	4. Prank Preparations

**For those that didn't remember it from the first chapter: this story is** **set somewhere between the Battle of Hogwarts and the when the Potter children first come to Hogwarts.**

 **Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to leave a review.**

* * *

Jonathan Bulstrode sat in History of Magic, all senses alert - something which very rarely happened. After being divided into their houses for breakfast, he had been unable to talk to the girls and plan their revenge, so he thought that this class was the perfect opportunity to contact Aria. Around him, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike fell asleep on their desks, barely even bothering to antagonise each other.

Twirling his wand absent-mindedly, Jonathan looked down to discover that he had burnt a design into his desk. He sighed, it seemed no matter what he did, he always ended up defacing something or other. Glancing at the student who had made the mistake of falling asleep next to him though, Jonathan couldn't help grinning. His reputation was definitely well-deserved.

Removing a Ravenclaw tie he had swiped earlier from his robe pockets, Jonathan scribbled his message and watched the ink soak into the fabric. (What? It wasn't like he was going to waste his own precious parchment or tie just for prank preparations!) Screwing up the material, Jonathan chucked it across the classroom. The most attention anyone gave it was the student sitting next to him giving a large snore.

Aria unfurled the material and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Jonathan made the mental note to clean out his pockets at next opportunity. The Slytherin girl gave him a look that clearly said _really Jonny?_ She glanced at the boy sitting next to him with glasses drawn over his face, as he let out another snore. She appeared to realise that he was serious.

Giving a sigh, Aria jotted down her reply on a piece of parchment and levitated it back across the sleeping History of Magic Classroom, while Professor Binns droned on at the front of the classroom. Jonathan rolled his eyes at how boring her message-passing skills were. Nevertheless, he unwrapped the precise folds of her note.

 _At least it will give us a chance to return the tie._

Jonathan grinned his ever-present joker-smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Phobia Darkthorne was in Herbology. It was one of the few things she had a passion for, because as long as she turned her powers off, plants never hated her as much as people did. With all the staff changes after the war, Professor Sprout was one of the few teachers that remained after the Battle of Hogwarts, even if she was now starting to complain about retiring.

Although Phobia loved the whole "let's re-pot mandrakes because they can be really useful" vibe of the lesson, she was really anxious about speaking to her head of house at the end of class. As usual, everyone avoided the corner of the greenhouse she was working in like the plague, yet Phobia couldn't help thinking of the two first years who had kept her company in the dungeons.

Phobia liked to follow the rules. It didn't give anyone the excuse to be even more horrible to her. However, she couldn't help wondering if they shared any lessons that morning and if they were planning on making revenge on the Ravenclaws without her.

As the lesson ended, Phobia dusted some soil from her robes, trying to make her decision. On one hand, she could speak to Professor Sprout (who she didn't think liked her very much) about her sleeping arrangements and hope she didn't send her back to her dormitory. On the other hand, she could rush off to the Great Hall as fast as possible, learn the plan from Aria or Jonathan and hope they hadn't carried it out yet.

By the greenhouse door, she hesitated.

"Did you need something, Miss Darkthorne?" Professor Sprout's said in her motherly tone, despite her facial features being twisted into an expression to hide her fear. She was gathering the potted mandrakes from the workbench and all of the other students had already left the greenhouse.

Phobia opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it. Professor Sprout was known for her fairness towards all of her students, so why would she consider giving a student she didn't like any special treatment? She'd be back to Hufflepuff in a heartbeat.

Turning her gaze to meet her teacher's, Phobia shook her head. "It's nothing Professor." She'd take her chances in the dungeons for the time being, it wasn't like anyone in her dormitory appreciated her presence.

* * *

Aria Rey had a death wish. At least, that was the general consensus in Slytherin House. Not only was she a muggleborn witch who refused to bow down to intra-house politics, but she also consorted with no-good Gryffindors and the Hufflepuff dementor. She would often ignore her housemates or act as if they were beneath her whenever they insulted her for those reasons and it was simply making them madder.

The first year Slytherins cornered her outside of the Great Hall, while everyone else was inside having lunch, leaving the Entrance Hall was deserted. It started with the intimidation tactics, but Aria calmly stared them down.

"Finished?" She asked impatiently, as she attempted to push past them for lunch.

Aria gasped at how roughly they pushed her back against the wall. "No, we're not finished, you filthy little mudblood! Do you really believe you can get away with defiling the noble name of Salazar Slytherin?" The ringleader hissed in anger.

Inside her head, Aria was rapidly searching for a witty comeback, but she wasn't fast enough. Instead she shrunk closer to the wall, thinking how ashamed her father would be that she couldn't even take on the schoolyard bullies in a verbal duel.

"ENOUGH!" A harsh cold blew through the Entrance Hall, sending icy pains through Aria's body. She heard her father's voice scolding her, telling her she wasn't good enough, telling her she was a disgrace to the name of her family. Aria's back scraped against the wall as she slid down to the floor. All those times her parents ignored her because they were too busy, the realisation that one of her best friends in primary school only liked her because she was rich, that incident where she fell in a patch of stinging nettles aged five and her father told her to stop her unnecessary bawling.

No matter what she did she would be a disappointment, no matter what she did she would always be on her own.

It took her a while after the images had stopped to notice that she didn't feel cold anymore. Instead, she found arms around her, enveloping her in a warm hug and the other Slytherins nowhere in sight. Slowly, Aria crawled out of the foetal position and sat up.

"I'm sorry, Aria. There were so many of them and I couldn't think of another way to get them away from you." Aria blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, revealing Phobia as the one with her arms around her. Despite the fear she had felt just moments ago, Aria felt herself relax slightly. She wasn't alone and while Phobia had been the one to inflict those fears upon her, she found she couldn't blame her, because she looked even more terrified than she was.

"Um, thanks Phobia. You can er, let go now." The two girls awkwardly released each other from their embrace, just as the doors to the Great Hall opened.

Jonathan grinned at them, his pockets overflowing with food he had swiped from the Gryffindor table. "So... floor party?" He asked looking at the two of them sitting on the ground, both pale and shaken. Sitting himself between them, he handed them each a chocolate frog.

"Thanks Jonny, we got a bit held up coming to lunch." Jonathan shrugged modestly, causing the insides of his robes to rattle slightly, with all the sweets inside.

Phobia glanced at the doors to the Great Hall. "How long do we have until lunch is finished?"

"Another half-hour or so," Jonathan replied, his usual grin coming back full strength.

Aria took another bite out of her chocolate frog. "That's enough time, isn't it?"

The Gryffindor made his best cheshire cat impression and raced off to get the supplies.

Phobia looked at Jonathan's retreating back curiously. "Are you going to let me in on the plan?"

Aria handed the older girl a ragged Ravenclaw tie. "Read this, we'll meet him up at Ravenclaw Tower."

The Hufflepuff second year opened her mouth to ask, but Aria just shook her head. "You don't want to know."


End file.
